CEDEFOP

The European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, known as Cedefop, began work in 1975. They assist the EEC in understanding and encouraging the development of vocational training. It was reestablished as an act in 2019 with it’s roles more clearly defined and now considered to be the premier EU agency for VET, skills and qualifications. Today, Cedefop is an agency supporting VET policy making by providing information and analysis of the status of VET in Europe. While the data they collect and present is not directly related to STEM education, they warrant a place on this report for three reasons; first, being STEM adjacent (that is, focussing on skills & the labour market). Second,  for their collective approach to presenting data and third, for their ‘toolkit’ of well-established sources of labour market intelligence, such as the Skills Intelligence, European skills forecast, the European skills index, and the European skills and jobs survey.

Cedefop serves as both a data collector, and as a data platform. As a collector, it conducts its research into the Labour market, specifically regarding skills development. The result is two data sets; the first is Skills Forecast, this uses harmonised international data and a common methodology to enable cross-country comparison. Indeed, comparison is the main goal. While the results are validated by national experts and do consider in-depth knowledge of national labour markets, the deliberate scope of the project means it is not designed to replace national forecasts. The second Cedefop data set is Skills in Online Job Advertisements. Again, this is designed as a comparison tool, with data collected from all 28 (pre-Brexit) countries, with the aim of performing a skills analysis for the Skills Online Vacancy Analysis Tool for Europe (OVATE). It presents quarterly updates to a classification of skills, competencies, qualifications and occupations, with big data analysis techniques used to extract information on skills from online advertisements.  

As a platform, Cedefop serves as an aggregator for different EU data sources. It assumes joint responsibility for presenting their own two data sets above. The data sets have unique target audiences, methodologies and purposes -though all related to skills and the labour market in some way. Their technical reports, final results and methodologies are available on their own dedicated project page. In addition to a combined four sets Eurostat and Eurofound. These four sets have been chosen specifically owing to their direct relationship to the Cedefop mission. Both of which have these agencies have their own dedicated sites with a vast collection of datasets and presentation methods. 

Eurostat contributes three data sets to the Cedefop platform (the EU Labour Force Survey, ICT Usage in Households & by Individuals and EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions). However their mission is significantly broader – it is the statistical office of the European Union, and compiles and displays all publicly available data on a Union level. This includes anything from economics, finances, energy and demographics. The platform offers at-a-glance facts with a visualiser in addition to more comprehensive reports. 

The sixth data set hosted by Cedefop is from Eurofound (the European Database of Tasks Indices). Their mission is broader than that of Cedefop, yet less smaller in scope than Eurostat. Eurofound is an agency tasked with understanding and improving social, employment and work-related policies. They too present visualisers of their core projects and key data sets in addition to offering a full data catalogue with thorough search functionality. 

While the combined six data sets may differ in their collection methodology and the original end purpose, the role of the Cedefop platform as an aggregator means it is designed toward the end of accessibility. As a result of the large collection of data Cedefop has compiled from their 6 data sets, they have derived 36 indicators, with the purpose of aiding user analysis and catering for varying levels of data literacy. The Cedefop platform allows for seamless browsing of these datasets and indicators. As outlined in their Programming Document, Cedefop places significant emphasis on dissemination, using user friendly tools and language to produce reports. This includes alternative communication channels, mobile friendly formats and impact-oriented interactive tools.